It’s Miller time at Tillinghast Invitational

Ken Miller not only won the 13th annual Tillinghast Invitational golf tournament on Sunday, he set a record along the way.

Miller shot back-to-back 66s, giving him a two-round total of 132, 12 under par. That broke the tournament scoring record by three shots.

“It feels good,” said Miller, a former Dobyns-Bennett golfer. “It was pretty tiring to finish the first round and wait around for an hour and a half. But it went by OK.”

Miller’s record-breaking weekend was one shot better than Austin Carter, the former Sullivan South golfer who plays at East Tennessee State. Carter had rounds of 65 and 68. His 133 total would have won the tournament in any of the previous 12 years.

Miller wasn’t the only golfer putting his name in the Tillinghast record book. Nick Cohen shot an eight-under-par 64, tying the tournament’s single-round record set in 2010 by Zach Botts.

“I was swinging it good,” Cohen said. “I kept the ball in play. I was hitting my driver well and my approach shots were close all day.”

Cohen said he missed some makeable putts and settled for a third-place tie after a first-round 71.

“Ken played right in front of us,” Cohen said. “We were getting constant updates. I was chasing him. I gave him my best shot.”

Chip Spratlin, a four-time winner of this tournament, finished tied for third with Cohen at nine under par after rounds of 68 and 67.

Matt Love was alone in fifth with rounds of 67 and 70, and Brandon Worley was sixth with a pair of 69s.

In all, 12 players finished under par. Defending champion Trevor Hulbert tied for 11th at one under par.

Warren Cheney’s opening 66 made him the overnight leader in the clubhouse because half the field didn’t get to finish the first round when it was suspended because of storms. He shot 77 in the second round and finished tied with Hulbert for 11th.

In the Seniors Division, Mike Wood captured his second Tillinghast title with a five-under-par 139 total. He closed with a 71 and beat newly hired Volunteer High School basketball coach Mike Poe by three strokes.

Poe shot 68-74. Former Tillinghast senior champ Tom Dinwiddie was the only other senior player under par after rounds of 69 and 74.